The Impostor, A Love Story (21 page)

“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” I asked.

“It is. I can’t wait to have my own
closet.”

I looked at my watch again. Fifteen more
minutes had passed. I was going to be late.

“What is he doing? I have to leave.” Another
ten minutes went by.

We couldn’t call Chris for a ride because he
was meeting Emily in Anchorage at the airport. He had some business
he needed to take care of in town.

“I’m just going to call a cab.” I searched
the kitchen for some mail to find the address and called the cab
company.

I paced the floor, staring at my watch every
few seconds. “Where are they? How long does it take to get a
taxi?”

“I’m sure Steve is unaware of the time. Why
don’t you just ask him if we can go?”

“I don’t want to bug him. I’d feel weird
trying to rush him when he’s doing me a favor.” Tapping my watch as
if it would make time slow down, I agonized. Dylan told me not to
be late.

“Chris gave me these. They will help us get
past security quickly, and this way I can go with you to the
terminal without a ticket.” She pulled out two badges from her
purse.

I examined mine, fidgeting with it. “That was
really sweet of him.”

The cab finally arrived in the driveway. I
figured I’d call to tell Steve goodbye later so we could get on our
way quickly. I didn’t want to interrupt him or begin a
conversation. I was extremely annoyed. I should never have relied
on him to drive us.

“Hurry, Emily, let’s go.” We ran outside and
down the hill, into the cab. Steve came out of the mechanic
shop.

“I can give you a ride. I’m sorry; there was
an unexpected problem with the car. The guys have never worked on
anything like this before, so I had to show them what to do. We are
almost done.”

“That is sweet of you, but the cab is already
here.” I couldn’t be any later.

We finally made it to the airport, and I ran
in frustrated. Emily paid the driver with the money Dylan had given
me.

“I’ll meet you at gate C20 to make sure
everything worked out.” She called out, “Now go.” I ran through the
terminal to get to the gate before they started boarding.

Panting, I went up to the counter.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. It just pulled away from
the terminal. We have been announcing final boarding for at least
fifteen minutes. It’s a full flight, so we had to give the seats to
standby customers.”

“I have to get on that plane. I have to,” I
pleaded.

“I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do,
ma’am.”

“You have to stop the plane. I can’t be late
for the wedding.”

“Once the plane has left, there is no way it
will come back. It is on its way to the traffic pattern. I can see
if there is another plane going to Seattle, but there is no way to
get on this flight.”

“Please, whatever you can do.” I totally
screwed up. I should have called the cab earlier. I didn’t know it
would take so long.

“Please help me,” I begged.

Emily showed up at the terminal to see I was
having problems.

“They overbooked the flight and gave away my
ticket. The plane has already pulled away from the gate.”

“There is another flight, but you’ll have to
run to make it. They are already boarding.” The reservationist did
something in the computer and said, “It is gate C7. You won’t be
able to check any bags.”

We were at gate number twenty. I don’t think
I had ever run so hard in my life.

“You can do it,” Emily called out as I bolted
down the terminal. “You can do it, Nicole.” I pushed past the
traffic of oncoming people, running with all my might. I had to
make this flight. I had to.

“Boarding flight number 234 to Seattle, Gate
7,” I could hear over the loud speakers. I looked behind. Emily
wasn’t following me anymore. I dodged people, “Excuse me, I’m
sorry,” I said as I pushed past them. I wasn’t a fast runner and
times like these I wish I had taken track in school. My side killed
me.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’re full.”

“You can’t be,” I panted. “Can you ask
someone to please catch the next flight? It’s so important I make
it to Seattle on time.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We can’t do that.”

“Someone has to be willing to give up their
seat. Please can you ask? I’ll pay them!”

“I can’t. I’m sorry. They have already
boarded.”

“You don’t understand. I have to get on.”

“There is nothing we can do. I’m sorry. We
have a flight going out at 9:00 p.m., getting you there by 12:39
a.m., and we have another one flying out at 6:00 a.m. I can have
you fly standby on either of those flights.”

“That is too late.” I grabbed the ticket,
devastated, and walked away from the counter. I approached the
window. The plane, my last chance, was slowly pulling away from the
terminal. I could feel my heart drop with each foot it taxied
toward the runway.

Dylan had been so nice. He asked me one
thing.
One thing,
and I screwed it up! Why did I feel it was
so important to see the apartment today? Why did I take the chance
I’d ruin his sister’s wedding for him? He would be worried, and I
had no way to contact him. And his family—why had I ruined this
opportunity to meet his family?

I should have waited for the apartment.
Something else would have come along. My forehead pressed up
against the window. It was cold. I watched the smoke from my breath
gently fog the glass pane. I saw the plane reach the runway. How
could I contact him? I sighed as it built up speed and slowly
lifted off. My hope soared away, and I realized my fairytale flew
off in the Alaskan sky.

Leaning against the wall next to me, I slowly
slid down in my desperation. Tears filled my eyes. Hitting the
floor, I curled in a ball. The hours he spent with me yesterday
haunted me.

The dress draped in a plastic in my arms,
reminded me how horrible I was for taking his gifts and then
letting him down. Shame consumed me. He had told me not to be
late.

Why hadn’t I just flown away with him
yesterday? He had done so much for me—even renting out his house so
we could be together—and I couldn’t even get to the airport on
time. He’d hate me. I’d never see him again. I considered dying in
my little spot on the floor. I didn’t deserve to move. I was a
failure, an idiot, a disappointment.

I could hear his voice echo in my ears. “I
got your plane ticket . . . Please don’t be late.” Over and over
his words rang in my head.

Please don’t be late. It’s my sister’s
wedding.
It just rang over and over like a broken record.
Covering my ears to drown out the sound, I sat there curled in a
ball on the floor—not caring that the world could see my
despair.

“There she is.” The voice seemed to be
underwater. “There she is.” Emily’s voice pulled me out of my pity
party.

“Nicole?” I heard a man’s voice too. I didn’t
dare open my eyes. I couldn’t bear to see anyone in my
condition.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You are a
mess.” The man’s voice intruded on my mini- breakdown. I realized
it was Chris.

“I ruined everything. I screwed up
everything,” I muttered through my tears.

“We’ve got to get you cleaned up. You look
horrible.” Emily tried to help me up.

“I feel horrible. I just want to stay here. I
will just die here. Leave me alone.”

“Can you help her get ready? She can’t go
like that. I have clearance to taxi out in thirty minutes. I will
get the plane prepped. You get her presentable. I’ll be at gate
15C. She will be a little late, but at least we can get her to the
reception.”

“I can’t go anywhere. He will hate me.”

“He will hate you more if you don’t even try
to show up,” Emily explained.

“I did try.”

“Stop being an idiot.” The two of them helped
me up.

“I know he won’t talk to me. He’s never going
to talk to me.”

“We are wasting precious time. Can you see if
you can get her ready and stop her from being hysterical? I need to
go prep the plane quickly.”

“Come on, Nicole. You really look like shit.
We need to get you cleaned up. You may be able to make it. You have
to snap out of it. Now!” She grabbed my hand and led me to the
bathroom. “You tried. You did everything you were supposed to do.
It just didn’t work out. He will understand.”

“Emily, he told me not to be late. He said it
was a full flight and not to be late.”

“You didn’t know they’d give away your seat
if you weren’t early. Besides, we got the place. It’s beautiful,
and your daughter is going to love the playhouse.”

“She will, won’t she?” I stuttered in between
tears.

“She will, and it has lights and water and
everything. You two will have such a blast in there. And the nanny
sounded perfect. It was the right thing to do, Nicole. It’s a
perfect place to bring a little girl. Dylan will understand, and if
he doesn’t, then he isn’t worth it.”

“And the car wasn’t as terrible I thought it
was going to be. And he said we could begin moving in right away if
we wanted to.”

It was true. I was here for my Jessica. And
just for the nanny alone, it was worth checking out. It was ours.
We had a home. I could finally bring my daughter to Alaska. Emily
was right. For me, I needed to go today. I did try everything I
could to get here on time. I finally stopped crying.

“That’s a girl. We don’t have much time, you
have to wash your face and brush your teeth at least. You can get
dressed in Seattle’s airport and do your makeup in the plane or
cab.”

“Chris is going to bring us?”

“Yeah, he came to the airport to pick me up
and take me out. When you missed your flight, I asked him if he had
any way to get in touch with Dylan. He tried Dylan’s cell but it
was off. He offered to take us in his private plane. It won’t go as
fast as a commercial jet, but it’s a multi-engine plane.”

“He has a plane?”

“I know—it’s crazy, right?” Emily shook her
head.

“Emily, what is up with these Alaskan men?
They can’t be for real.”

“You look so much better. Let’s grab your bag
and your dress and get over to the gate. Chris only has a small
window of time. I think he already has his flight order.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you. You
are the best friend anyone could have.”

“I know.” She playfully acted cocky.

I really didn’t know what I’d do without her.
We were each other’s psychologist, goal setter, encourager; the
list goes on and on. I couldn’t have made this voyage without her.
It was exciting experiencing all this with a friend I truly cared
about. I would have done anything for her, and she would have done
anything for me. I was truly blessed.

Chris was amazing too. It was like he came
out of nowhere to save the day.

I felt so much better without the black
mascara all over my face. We ran to the gate and down the portable
stairway outside to the runway. Chris’s plane was parked about
fifty feet away. The engine roared. We climbed the small portable
staircase into the plane. He had already begun the preflight check,
so we were ready to taxi to the runway. I stuck my head in the
cockpit, staring at all the lit-up instruments that would help soar
us through the air. Chris was going to fly this thing.

“Thank you so much, Chris.”

“You owe me one.” He glanced back at me,
grinning.

I took my seat. Before we knew it, we were
racing down the runway. The lights flashed by as we ascended. Then
finally, the nose of the plane lifted off and carried us into the
atmosphere. The ground below got smaller as we smoothly entered the
sky.

“We are flying to Seattle in a private
plane.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“I know. It makes me feel important or
something.”

“Emily, thank you. And Chris, I can’t believe
he is doing this for me.”

“I know, I have never met anyone who is so .
. .” She started beaming. “I kinda wonder if he had planned all
this before, just in case you missed your flight. Chris is going to
show me Seattle.”

“I didn’t think there were actually men left
like this in the world. I thought they had died out centuries ago.
It’s not all about getting trashed or seeing how much they can use
a girl.”

“They really know how to make a girl feel
special,” Emily added.

I looked out the window to watch the
disappearing horizon of lights. “I hope I don’t lose Dylan. I
really think I’m falling in love with him.”

“Nicole, be careful. He is from a totally
different world than ours. Just enjoy it as long as you can. And if
he’s a jerk when you get there, Chris and I, are going to be
staying at the Hilton. Just take a cab there, and we will fly you
home tomorrow with us. I’ll make sure to put your name on our room
so that if we go out, you can still get a key.”

“I don’t want to mess up your romantic
weekend.”

“Don’t think twice about it. If things work
out with Dylan, leave us a message at the front desk so I know you
are okay. I don’t think he will be a jerk, but you never know. At
least you won’t be in Seattle alone.”

I squeezed Emily, giving her a big hug. “I’m
scared, Emily. I really think I messed up big time.”

“Let me do your hair,” she changed the
subject. “It would be comical to see you try to put on your makeup
in this turbulence.”

When we got to the airport, I dashed into the
bathroom to try and get dressed. I figured I would do my make up in
the cab to save time.

“You really look stunning, Nicole.” Emily
came over to me, taking my hands as I stood in the doorway of the
ladies’ room.

“You do, Nicole,” Chris assured me.

But as I walked out, both Emily and Chris
began laughing.

“What’s wrong?”

They were glaring at my shoes. “Are you
taking that with you?”